Not sure if this is allowable on this forum but am curious about traditional Huachuma mesa ceremonies. I've found alot of information on the net etc but curious if any of you have any good information/ links book you think I should read? I I understand the process for making Huachuma am mainly interested in how a ceremony proceeds. Anyhow just curious. Mods if this is not OK topic I apologise now.
cheers

Hi Stillman, you should look for the works of Douglas Sharon, Joralemon and Bonnie Glass-Coffin for an understanding of largely post-colonial san pedro shamanism and mesa work. Finding information on pre-colonial Huachuma mesa work is more difficult because this tradition has been obscured by the syncretic post-colonial modality of this ancient spiritual practice. To understand archaic Huachuma ritual and practice you need to look at the cultures that practiced it: Chavin, Sican, Mochica, Lambayeque and Tiwanaku (possibly Huari/Wari, Nazca, Paracas and others). Key to understanding their work with Huachuma is an understanding of their temple complexes (and the location of their temple complexes) as these edifices function(ed) as the world's largest and most potent mesas in conjunction with their monumental and mobile stone artwork and stunning textile work (much of which has been lost in the highlands). Essentially, the temples and artwork demonstrate the core elements of the Huachuma mesa on a grand scale. There are some excellent books written on pre-columbian South American societies and their artworks and buildings, and although they will leave the interpretation regarding sacred plants up to you (there is very little academic mention of the subject) it will give you some insight if you are interested... and, while some many not agree I am of the opinion that many of the artistic and architectural nuances of the societies mentioned above are derived from work with sacred plants, most notably Huachuma, Huilca/Vilca and Cebil and possibly, early on, Ayahuasca. The use of Huachuma and other sacred plants was very fundamental in some pre-colonial south american societies.

Stillman likes this

I walk among men as among fragments of the future: of the future which I scan.
And it is all my art and aim, to compose into one and bring together what is fragment and riddle and dreadful chance.
And how could I endure to be a man, if a man were not also poet and reader of riddles and the redeemer of chance!
To redeem the past and to transform every 'It was' into an 'I wanted it thus!' - that alone do I call redemption!
Thus spoke Zarathustra.

I am slowly researching Chavin history I ordered the Humming birds journey book, it apparently goes into detail of pre-hispanic ceremonies. Interestingly there is a western born Shaman in Peru currently practicing hybridised ceremonies, reviving some of the older customs. She believes that the they should be held during the day like the Chavin, because of the strong link to the Sun. I haven't read the book as yet but I think it will shed some light on some of the practices and why.

Hey, not at bad article at all... I am glad to hear you are researching Chavin. Chavin were the apogee of Huachuma mesa work in south america. The greatest of all time. I have been to the Chavin temple five times to drink the medicine. My teacher was the pioneer in reviving the old traditions of the Chavin, which have remained embedded in the temple complex (there is now also a fantastic museum in the town of Chavin with dozens of their magnificent stone artworks). There is a weath of information on his website: http://www.biopark.org/. For 17 years he has been leading pilgrimages to ancient sites of northern Peru; the last pilgrimage is planned for December this year, unfortunately. The ceremonies are conducted half in the daylight and half at night and are mobile and fluid; reconciliation of duality (opposites) to restore balance is a key process of mesa work and as such work in the day/night is instrumental in bringing about transformation (and also seeing the beauty of the temple!). Conversely coastal post-colonial san pedro mesa ceremonies are all night-time, stationary ordeals. If you want to know more about Chavin consider reading about the architecture of Chavin and its topographical location, between the "black" and "white" cordilleras and at the confluences of two rivers, the headwaters of the amazon, at the junction of important trade routes between the coast and tropical lowlands: the strategic position demonstrates the ordering principle of the balanced mesa. The temple architecture demonstrates the same principles of the reconciliation of duality. Unlike all who followed (and some were extremely potent spiritual societies) the Chavin had no hierachy and no warfare and no hunger for power: they maintained their cohesion for 1000 years on the strength of a powerful and timeless ideology. The "Lanzon" that sits at the centre of the old temple is the greatest single piece of pre-columbian monumental stonework I have ever seen, and I have seen a few to choose from. Huachuma is a grand Maestro and the revival of the old traditions, applied in a modern world, could have a powerful transformative potential.

Stillman likes this

I walk among men as among fragments of the future: of the future which I scan.
And it is all my art and aim, to compose into one and bring together what is fragment and riddle and dreadful chance.
And how could I endure to be a man, if a man were not also poet and reader of riddles and the redeemer of chance!
To redeem the past and to transform every 'It was' into an 'I wanted it thus!' - that alone do I call redemption!
Thus spoke Zarathustra.